One mountain, one river, one sage: Treasures from the Shandong Library

BY State Library of South Australia | 10-Sep-2018

From the home of Confucius, Shandong Province, comes an exhibition steeped in 3,000 years of Chinese civilisation and history. This exhibition is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see treasures at the State Library of South Australia that are rarely on public display in China, and have never been shown outside of China. #OneMountainOneRiverOneSage #Adelaide #SouthAustralia #Shandong #China #exhibitions #statelibrarysa #SLSA @SLSA

This exhibition tells the stories of Shandong Province through rare pieces from the Shandong Library, and features over 60 original items including ancient books, press plates, calligraphy tools, paintings, wall hangings and stone rubbings. The oldest original items on display are five books of Yongle Beizang Buddhist sutras, which were engraved and printed between 1419 and 1440.

One mountain, one river, one sage, a well-known Shandong saying, represents the importance of nature (Mount Tai and the Yellow River) and philosophy (Confucius) in Chinese history and culture. Explore ancient everyday life in Jinan, capital of Shandong Province, and learn about key historical figures, such as Confucius, Mencius, the Emperors, and imperial families. Discover the printing and binding methods of ancient books and how the Shandong Library is preserving the history of their country for future generations.

The State Library of South Australia is honoured to be working with the Shandong Library to bring this significant exhibition of treasures that have never been shown outside of China to Australia.

Exhibition is on display in the State Library Gallery and Treasures Wall.

A cartoon about the life and times of a Sri Lankan panda bear, sculptures of weird little characters, hand-blown glass inspired by nature, a virtual reality installation, photography dealing with audience psychology and a variety of paintings are some of the works from emerging professional artists that will be featured at the Hall & Wilcox Art Exhibition.